Bob Hunter commentary: Rumblings

During the season, Ohio State football players had no explanation for what happened in January when they lost to Florida in the national championship game.

During the season, Ohio State football players had no explanation for what happened in January when they lost to Florida in the national championship game.

Now that the season's over, they are saying they didn't work this hard or stay this focused at this time last year.

Is it true? It's hard to say.

If the Buckeyes reach the title game, they face the same layoff, 50 days between games, that they had a year ago. Most people agreed that the Buckeyes didn't stay sharp because the Big Ten season ends one or two weeks before most other conferences.

Count Michigan coach Lloyd Carr in that crowd. When he announced his retirement, he was adamant in saying the Big Ten needed to change its schedule and finish later.

Last year was the first time the Bowl Championship Series scheduled the title game a week later than the other bowl games, so it was virgin territory for the teams that participated.

The bet is that if Ohio State makes the title game, coach Jim Tressel won't take the team to New Orleans as early as he took it to Phoenix last time.

Commissioner Dan Ross of the Ohio High School Athletic Association said at a luncheon in Canton that Tressel continues to lobby to have the state football finals moved from Canton and Massillon to Columbus.

"Jim Tressel always raises his hand and says, 'What do I have to do to get the playoffs moved to Columbus?' " Ross said. "I just say, 'Please don't ask that question.' "

The finals have been held in Stark County for 17 years, and the OHSAA has a contract to hold them there through 2009, with options for 2010 and 2011.

Just about everybody agrees that the facilities -- Canton's Fawcett Stadium and Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium -- are excellent and that the communities serve as gracious hosts. But there are always complaints from southern schools that the distance they have to travel gives their northern Ohio counterparts a distinct advantage.

Ohio State defensive end Lawrence Wilson is in an interesting situation. The junior has been out since suffering a broken leg in the opener against Youngstown State. The word all along has been that he might be able to play in a bowl game.

If he plays, he will lose his redshirt, meaning he would have only one year of eligibility remaining instead of two. But if he is healthy enough to play, there seems little doubt that the Buckeyes would be better with him than without him.

If the Buckeyes make the national championship game, it's hard to imagine that he wouldn't want to play. But if the Buckeyes are in the Rose Bowl, you wonder whether he and the coaches will believe it's worth it.

Forward Joseph Ngwenya paid dividends for MLS Cup winner Houston after the Crew traded him at midseason for Alejandro Moreno. Ngwenya scored seven regular-season goals and the tying goal in the 61st minute of Houston's 2-1 win over New England in the Major League Soccer title game.

But Ngwenya joined German second-division team Alemannia Aachen this week for a tryout. Crew insiders say the move suggests that coach Sigi Schmid knew Ngwenya wanted to go to Europe, which is one reason he was willing to trade him.

For those wondering why the Cincinnati Reds spent so much money -- $46 million for four years -- for closer Francisco Cordero, one statistic, courtesy of Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci, offers a clue: The Reds were outscored by 70 runs last season, but the eighth inning accounted for 53 of those runs.

The Reds allowed more runs in the eighth, 123, than in any other inning. Cordero's signing should improve that figure, with former closer David Weathers moving into a setup role.

Dublin native Kent Mercker has been throwing in preparation for a possible comeback this spring. Mercker had ligament replacement surgery on his left elbow in 2006, after going 1-1 with a 4.13 ERA in 37 appearances with the Reds that season.

It was the second season in a row that the left-hander was one of the team's most effective relievers, so it seems likely the Reds would give him a shot.

Merkcer turns 40 on Feb. 1.

Donnie Henderson isn't listed among the Cincinnati Bengals coaches, but the one-time defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions and New York Jets was a fixture during training camp and has been seen around the team at times this season.

What to make of this? Maybe nothing, although Chuck Bresnahan, the current defensive coordinator, hung around the team in the same kind of "consultant" role before coach Marvin Lewis fired Leslie Frasier and hired Bresnahan.

The Bengals defense looked good Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, but a comment by tackle John Thornton seemed to have a hidden message.

Thornton said almost in passing that the defensive players decided not to worry about what the defensive play call was and just play. He didn't elaborate, but the inference was that there have been misgivings about what Bresnahan had been asking them to do.

Bresnahan's future with the team likely depends on how the defense closes out the season. If it struggles, Lewis might have a guy ready to step in who knows the team pretty well.

Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch.

bhunter@dispatch.com

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